Wednesday, August 8th: I slept in this morning until around 7:30am. I got up, ate a poptart, made some coffee, and packed up my things. I hiked the one mile to the state park where there is a general store. The resupply strategy coming out of Chester was originally to carry enough food to make it here then hitch into the town of Burney and get a resupply to Castella. I, however, got a little too excited at the health food store in Chester and hiked out of town with 9 dinners for a 4 day stretch. So, I skipped town today and just bought some snacks at the small camp store. I also found some dehydrated lentil soup in the hiker box (a lot of it) and couldn't bare to leave it behind because its so expensive to buy in the store. So, yet again I am carrying way more food than I could ever eat.
After I figured out my food situation I took a shower (by take a shower I mean rinse off without soap). I also did my laundry (and by doing laundry I mean rinse off my clothes in the shower without soap). I actually did feel extreamly refreshed and ready for the next stretch to Castella. If I were to hike normally I would roll into Castella this upcoming Saturday but I have my new pack getting shipped there and the post office is closed. So, I have to wait until Monday to pick it up. This means that I get to take this next section a bit more slowly, which is good because the terrain is starting to pick up in difficulty again.
Around noon I headed off on a side trail to Burney Falls. It was definitely worth seeing. I spent a little bit of time there with the tourists watching other thru hikers (who did not want to pay the 1 dollar for a "shower" at the camp) bathe in the pool of water below the falls.
I hit the trail again around 2pm. 6 miles into the hike I came across a stream with a little Wadeing pool in it. It was too inviting to pass up. I went for a swim and drank as much of the water as I could. Today was another hot day! It felt just like the desert and I knew I was dehydrated because I was drinking soda and coffee all morning instead of water.
There is a man out here on the trail in his 60s who retired from the military as a full colonel after 27 years of service. He wakes up every morning at 3:30am, is hiking by 4am, hikes 20+ miles a day, and is done by 2pm or so....relaxing, reading, washing his clothes, and enjoying the best part of the day! My goal for tomorrow and the rest of this stretch to Castella is to hike a bit more on his schedule than on mine. I don't know about a 4am start but 5:30 sounds pretty good.
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